Overview
- Axios reports that during a Nov. 18 meeting, President Trump pressed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to join the Abraham Accords and left "disappointed and irritated" as the crown prince held his ground.
- MBS told Trump that Saudi public opinion after the Gaza war precludes immediate normalization and said any agreement requires an "irreversible, credible and time-bound" pathway to a Palestinian state.
- Trump publicly said Saudi Arabia would receive the same F-35 model Israel operates, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio later assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Riyadh would get a downgraded version to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge.
- Public reporting indicates the administration has moved to proceed with the first F-35 transfer to Saudi Arabia, with technical terms constrained by U.S. law and Israeli concerns about maintaining a military edge.
- A White House official said expanding the Abraham Accords is a priority for Trump, and sources noted the president did not raise the 9/11 families’ lawsuit against Saudi Arabia during the meeting.